Find Local Wine Events

To find wine events in your area, take a look at LocalWineEvents.com. It's a calendar of food and drink events all over the world. There are quite a few events listed in my own area, so I know this is a site that event planners actually use.

Events listed include wine tastings, wine dinners, and cooking classes. LocalWineEvents.com even includes events that don't have anything to do with wine--e.g., beer festivals, homebrew competitions, and single malt scotch tastings.

I started to subscribe to LocalWineEvents.com's free, weekly newsletter that contains information about upcoming events in my area plus articles wine-oriented articles. Doing so, however, would require me to send them registration information about myself via a non-secure site. I think I'll stick with checking their calendar occasionally.

Wine in a Box = Smaller Carbon Footprint

Look for an increasing number of wines to become available in boxes. Yes, boxes. The economic and environmental advantages of putting wine in a box are currently being touted throughout the wine industry. For example, Tyler Colman (a.k.a., "Dr. Vino") in an Op-Ed piece in the NY Times (Aug. 17, 2008) writes:

"More than 90 percent of American wine production occurs on the West Coast, but because the majority of consumers live east of the Mississippi, a large part of carbon-dioxide emissions associated with wine comes from simply trucking it from the vineyard to tables on the East Coast.... Switching to wine in a box for the 97 percent of wines that are made to be consumed within a year would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about two million tons, or the equivalent of retiring 400,000 cars."

Facts such as these are motivating wine producers concerned about reducing their carbon footprints to think more seriously about using boxes.

Another advantage of boxed wine is that the wine comes in an air-tight bag, which deflates as it is drained. In contrast to a bottled wine that lasts for only a day or two after being opened, an opened box of wine can last for up to four weeks.

Granted, boxed wines have a bad image--due to the fact that widely available boxed wines are of extremely low quality. However, consumers should look for an increasing number of wine producers to put higher quality wines in boxes in the near future.

If you're thinking that you can't imagine a sommelier presenting you with a box of wine at a five-star restaurant, remember that wine boxes are not intended for wines that require aging. They are for the 90% or more of all wines consumed in the U.S. that are intended to be consumed without aging.

Interested readers can find out more about boxed wines at: http://boxedwinespot.blogspot.com/.

Wine and Cheese Pairing

Here are a some tips for pairing wine and cheese from Dairy Famers of Canada:

Pair lighter cheeses with light wines. This is simply a special instance of a more general rule concerning the strength of flavors in wine and food. Strongly flavored cheeses will overpower light wines to the point that you might as well be drinking water instead. Conversely, a full-bodied wine may overpower a lightly flavored cheese. The obvious corollary to this rule is of course: Pair more strongly flavored cheeses with more full-bodied wines.

Pair soft cheeses (e.g., Brie, Camembert) with light, fruity wines. Consider using a Gewürztraminer, a Riesling or a fruity red.

Pair firm cheeses (e.g., mild or medium Cheddar, Emmental, Gouda) with dry rosé wines or fruity red wines. Try a Beaujoulais, Valpolicella, Merlot or Zinfandel.

Pair firm, flavoured cheeses (e.g., sharp Cheddar, Aged Provolone) with full-bodied reds. Good wine choices for this category include Bordeaux, Médoc, Côtes-du-Rhône, Zinfandel, Rioja or Chianti.

Pair blue cheeses with Port, Ice wines, Ice ciders or dessert wines.

Pair hard cheeses (e.g., Dry Jack, Parmesan) with very dry whites.

Niagara Wine Festival

The wineries of southern Ontario are sponsoring their annual Niagara Wine Festival from Sept. 19th to 28th, 2008. The ten-day festival features more than 100 events, including winery tours and tastings, Niagara cuisine, and live music.

Festival events take place at both area wineries and Montebello Park in St. Catharines, Ontario. Wineries host special tastings, tours and courses on food and wine pairings. Most of the live music will be at Montebello Park, where dozens of wineries will be on hand to offer samples of their best wines. My wife and I spent an afternoon at Montebello Park during last year's festival and had a wonderful time.

One fun thing you can do is to buy a Discovery Pass at one of the wineries for $30, which entitles you to a variety of special tastings and treats at all of the wineries of southern Ontario. I purchased the Discovery Pass one year and had a great time touring the wineries.

Click here for a downloadable festival guide that tells you everything you need to know.

Meet the Winemaker at Chateau Buffalo

Chateau Buffalo is hosting a Meet the Winemaker event on Fri., Aug. 29th, from 4 to 8pm. The guest of honor will be Duncan Ross of Arrowhead Spring Vineyards, a small, family-owned winery along the Niagara Wine Trail (USA).

Arrowhead Spring primarily grows European wine grapes such as Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. They employ low yield practices to increase the intensity of their fruit and produce the best wines they can. They also use organic and biodynamic vineyard practices to ensure a healthy ecosystem.

This is a great chance to meet a local winemaker and sample some great wine. I plan to be there myself. Chateau Buffalo is located at 1209 Hertel Ave., Buffalo, NY. Call 716-873-0074 for further details.

Twilight Wine Tasting at Old Fort Niagara

The Premier Wine Group is sponsoring a Twilight Wine Tasting at Old Fort Niagara in Lewiston, NY, on Sat., Aug. 23rd, at 6:30pm. Participants will be able to sample 30 wines from Niagara County and the Finger Lakes region.

The servers, musicians and even the food will have an 18th century flavor. Meats, cheese, pastries, fruits and soups of the era along with other delicacies from area restaurants will be served. You can dance in an 18th century fashion and tour the fort's latest exhibits.

The evening will end with a musket and cannon salute and a lantern-lit dessert tasting. Tickets are $40 per person. All proceeds will go to the Old Fort Niagara Association Reservation. Call 716-745-7611 for reservations.

Winemaking Along the Niagara Escarpment

At Wine Day Michael VonHeckler, owner and winemaker at Warm Lake Estate, gave a very interesting lecture on the characteristics of the Niagara Escarpment that make it suitable for producing excellent wines. The Niagara Escarpment is basically a 400-600 ft. cliff that extends for more than 650 miles from New York through Ontario to Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois. It is the cliff over which the Niagara River plunges to form Niagara Falls and was formed by the unequal erosion of rocks of varying hardness.

Like the region of Burgundy, the soil along the Niagara Escarpment is clay over limestone, has a pH of 7.5, has excellent air and water drainage, and contains illitic soil components. In spite of Buffalo's reputation for being too cold and for receiving too much snowfall, it turns out that the unique shape of the escarpment creates a convection flow that results in the highest and steepest portion of the escarpment receiving just the right amount of heat for growing wine grapes. There is also the right amount of soil along that portion of the escarpment as well.

According to J. S. Gladstone (Viticulture and the Environment, 1992), Pinot Noir grapes must be grown in a region with at least 2102 degrees days Fahrenheit per year. (One degree day = daily high temperature minus daily low temperature minus 15.) The portion of the Niagara Escarpment in Niagara County, NY, has an average of 2098 degree days F/year, giving it the potential to produce very good Pinot Noirs. Jancis Robinson, Master of Wine, has noted that the land along the escarpment is very similar to Volnay in Burgundy and suggests that in the right places similar quality wine could be made.

In spite of the Niagara Escarpment's apparent suitability for growing excellent wine grapes, as of 1996 there were very few wine grapes being grown in Niagara County. By contrast, on the Canadian side of the escarpment, there were 100 wineries with 18,000 acres of wine grapes, employing 7,000 workers and making a $3.5 billion impact on the economy.

Michael VonHeckler saw a golden opportunity and in 2002 opened his winery, focusing on Pinot Noir. Michael was also instrumental in getting the Niagara Escarpment labeled as an American Viticultural Area in 2005. There are now 12 wineries along the Niagara Wine Trail, with 12 more in planning or development. It will be interesting to see what kind of wines the area produces as it continues to grow and develop.

Carr Valley Chipotle Cranberry Cheddar

Master Cheesemaker Sid Cook at Carr Valley Cheese has done it again. He has created another unique and interesting variety of flavored American cheddar: Chipotle Cranberry Cheddar. One of Sid's newest creations, it has already won a Bronze Award at the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest.

Chipotle Cranberry Cheddar uses a robustly flavored white cheddar. The sweetness of the cranberries contrasts nicely with the spicy, smoky flavor of the chipotle peppers. Carr Valley's website describes the cheese as having the flavor of Texas barbecue sauce. One writer described the cheese as a "mouth party." It is at the very least a good cheese to bring to a party.

As a general rule, I do not buy cheese-with-stuff-in-it because of the inferior quality of most such products. The "stuff" is typically added because the cheese-without-the-stuff would be exceedingly uninteresting. On the way to a party last week, however, I took a chance with Carr Valley's Chipotle Cranberry Cheddar because I knew Sid Cook was behind it. I was not disappointed. I recommend this fun variation on ordinary cheddar.

Dancing Buffalo Cidre

Dancing Buffalo Cidre is a line of artisan hard ciders produced by Carl Schmitter, winemaker (and co-owner with wife Suzi) of Chateau Buffalo Wine Shop & Tasting Room (Buffalo, NY). The seven or so varieties of cider offer a light and refreshing change of pace to the wine enthusiast looking for something a little bit different.

Hard ciders taste more like white wines than I had initially expected them to. However, because their flavor profiles are simpler, they are easier (and, I think, more refreshing) to drink than most fruity white wines.

My favorite Dancing Buffalo Cidre is Mambo ($10) the only semi-dry cider in the line-up. Its slightly sweet, crisp and fruity flavor make it a perfect summertime beverage. Other Dancing Buffalo Cidres include Polka (dry, $10) and Promenade (dry and sparkling, $15).

All of these ciders are made from a blend of Golden Russet, Yellow Delicious and wild apples. The Golden Russet apples are used for their aromatic character, the Yellow Delicious apples for their sweetness, and the wild apples for the slight astringency they impart to the cider. The ciders are also aged for six months in bourbon barrels to give them added depth and flavor.

Hard ciders should be served well chilled. Carl says they even go well over ice. The ciders--particularly the dry ones--can be served with many of the same foods you would eat with white wines (e.g., poultry or fish). The semi-dry Mambo would go well with a salad or other light summertime fare.

The Dancing Buffalo line-up also includes a sweet, holiday cider infused with mulling spices, a cider made from heirloom Baldwin apples, and a pear-based cider. One that I'm really looking forward to tasting several months from now when it is available is apple ice wine, a concentrated and sweet ice wine made from frozen apples. That sounds like lots of fun.

Alternative Asiagos

I recently tried two kinds of Asiago cheese that are different from the more familiar aged variety known as Asiago d'Allevo (or Asiago Vecchio). Asiago Fresca (pictured at left) is a young cow's milk cheese that is aged only a few weeks as opposed to several months. Fresca means "fresh" or "young."

Asiago Fresca is mild, creamy and slightly tangy due to a touch of acidity. While aged Asiago is made from skimmed milk, Asiago Fresca is made from whole milk. The latter melts very easily and works well on a cheese tray as a complement to more strongly flavored cheeses. Asiago Fresca is a light and easy cheese to eat by itself and pairs well with light and easy wines like Pinot Grigio, Pinot Gris or fruity red wines.

In between Asiago Fresca and Asiago d'Allevo lies medium (or mezzano) Asiago, which I've quite enjoyed eating this week. It has more personality than its younger, fresher cousin but isn't overbearing like its older counterpart. Medium Asiago is aged only a couple of months and--judging from its creaminess--must not be made from skimmed milk. I find it to be the most enjoyable of the three kinds of Asiago to eat by itself with bread or a cracker.

"Official" Asiago cheese can only be made in the village of Asiago in northern Veneto, where it has been produced for centuries. However, the 'protected designation of origin' rules are not always enforced outside of the European Union.

All forms of Asiago cheese pair well with figs, apples, pears, pistachios, almonds, and olives.

America's Grape Country Wine Festival

America's Grape Country Wine Festival, a new wine festival showcasing wineries from across New York, will be held at the Chatauqua County Fairgrounds in Dunkirk, NY, from 10am to 5pm on Aug. 9th and 10th.

The event will feature wine-tastings from two dozen wineries, food from a variety of vendors, live music, and a wine and cheese educational seminar presented by The New York Wine and Culinary Center. The cost is $15 in advance or $20 at the door. I'm glad to see NY wines being promoted by events like this and Wine Day.

Wine Day at Niagara University

Niagara University, overlooking the Niagara River gorge (and just four miles north of Niagara Falls), will be hosting Wine Day on Aug. 2nd to provide education about wine and wine appreciation and to promote the winemaking region of Niagara County.

The morning features four educational lectures on pairing wine and food, wine-tasting techniques, unique characteristics of different wine varieties (with special emphasis given to local grape varieties) and particular facts about winemaking along the Niagara Escarpment. In the afternoon, you are encouraged to put this knowledge to use at the wineries on the Niagara Wine Trail.

Preregistration for the event is required. The cost is $35. I have to admit I've given more attention to the Canadian wineries just over the border than to the wineries in my own backyard. I think I may give this event a try.

Blossom Honey Wine

At the Kenmore, NY, Farmer's Market today I encountered an absolutely fascinating dessert wine: Blossom Honey Wine. The wine is made from honey rather than grape juice and is infused with ginger root. It has a wonderfully sweet and crisp flavor. I've never tasted anything like it.

Blossom Honey Wine is produced locally by Carl and Suzi Schmitter at Chateau Buffalo, Buffalo's only boutique winery and cidery. Chateau Buffalo is located on North Buffalo's Hertel Ave., one of Buffalo's more interesting neighborhoods for shopping and dining. After the honey is diluted with water, it is fermented just like grape juice using a champagne yeast.

The Schmitters also produce the Dancing Buffalo line of artisanal hard ciders, including dry, semi-dry, spiced and sparkling varieties. They make all of their wines at the back of their store in Buffalo using locally grown fruits.

Blossom Honey Wine sells for $18/bottle. Its light, sweet and refreshing taste make it the perfect patio beverage for a warm summer evening.

Kerrygold Ivernia

I recently tried a tasty Irish cheese that I had not encountered before. Kerrygold's Ivernia is a hard, ripe cheese made from the milk of grass-fed cows. 'Ivernia' is an ancient name for Ireland.

The cheese is aged three years and has a rich, complex and buttery flavor. Ivernia seems to modeled after Parmigiano-Reggiano and indeed the aromas of the two cheeses are quite similar.

Like all hard, somewhat dry cheeses, Ivernia works well grated over a green salad, pasta, soup or pizza. It is also very enjoyable with a crust of fresh bread. Kerrygold recommends pairing Ivernia with Cabernet Sauvignon, Chianti or an Irish Ale. Recipes using Ivernia and other Kerrygold cheeses can be found here.

According to the pricing label that came with my wedge of Ivernia, the cheese is made from "cooked baby octopus, red onion, celery, black olives, roasted red peppers, and Italian marinade." We'll assume that someone at Premier Gourmet made a mistake with the label-maker.

Niagara New Vintage Festival

The 2008 Niagara New Vintage Festival begins tomorrow (June 14th) and runs through the 22nd. Special tastings and culinary events will take place at the various wineries of the Niagara region of southern Ontario.

You can even visit Wayne Gretzky Estates Winery in Vineland, ON, and sample some of Dan Aykroyd's wines at Lakeview Cellars. Dan was first introduced to Premier Cru Bordeaux and other fine wines by musician Steve Cropper while working on Saturday Night Live and the first Blues Brothers movie. Dan has announced plans to build the Dan Aykroyd winery in the west Niagara peninsula.

If you're in the area, this could be a good event to take dad to for Father's Day. A complete listing of festival events can be found here.

Zamorano

I recently enjoyed a new kind of Spanish cheese (new to me, at any rate): Zamorano, a raw sheep's milk cheese from the region of Castile-León. The name comes from the city of Zamora, a provincal capital in Castile-León. Spanish shepherding families are said to have been handcrafting this cheese from the milk of the region's Churra and Castellano sheep for centuries.

Zamorano is a somewhat hard, pale cheese with a slightly sharp, buttery flavor. It is often compared to Manchego, though it is less dry and has a richer, nuttier flavor. During the three to nine month aging process its rind is brushed and rubbed with olive oil.

Zamorano pairs well with smoked meats, pears, tomatoes, and red wines such as Rioja, Zinfandel (the red, not the pink kind) and Cabernet. I highly recommend this very flavorful Spanish cheese.

(Buffalo readers: I bought my sample of Zamorano at the Lexington Co-Op.)

Photo credit: Jon Sullivan

L'Ottavo Chianti

I recently enjoyed two good wines from Fattoria L'Ottavo--a Chianti Classico and a Chianti Classico Riserva. In order to be a Chianti Classico, the wine has to made in the Classico subregion of the Chianti wine area, and it has to be aged in oak casks about four to seven months. Riservas are aged for at least two years, which smooths out the tannins.

I thought both wines were very smooth and paired well with a wide range of foods. They had a bright, ruby red color and aromas of cherry, plum, and vanilla.

The L'Ottavo Chiantis are made from about 80% Sangiovese grapes, with the remainder being comprised of Malvasia bianca, Canaiolo, Trebbiano, Merlot and Cabernet. Malvasia bianca, of course, is a white grape--an unusual ingredient in an ostensibly red wine.

The L'Ottavo estate is situated in Lucolena, part of the municipality of Greve in Chianti, at an altitude of 400m. The buildings at the estate have been converted into modern, stylish apartments for agritourists who want to visit the Tuscan winemaking region.

The L'Ottavo Chianti Classico sells for around $12 to $14, while the Riserva sells for around $16 to $19. They are affordable, enjoyable Italian wines.

Grilled Cheese

In case you missed it, April was Grilled Cheese Month. (Who decides these things, anyway? I wouldn't be surprised if the Kraft Corporation weren't behind this one.)

Foodies have gotten rather serious about grilled cheese lately. Some cities have even hosted Grilled Cheese Invitational Competitions (details here and here).

The Food Network recently hosted a Grilled Cheese Throwdown between celebrity chef Bobby Flay and the owners of the Pop Shop, which offers 31 varieties of grilled cheese sandwiches. In the "Throwdown" series Flay shows up to a dining establishment without warning and challenges makers of certain specialties to a cook-off.

The Pop Shop's jack cheese, roasted turkey, bacon, avocado, and house dressing (balsamic mayo) on foccacia sandwich lost by just a hair to Flay's grilled brie and goat cheese with bacon and green tomato sandwich.

According to the Pop Shop, the best accompaniment to a grilled cheese sandwich is tomato soup. I'll have to try that with my daughters.

Grilled cheese recipes from the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board can be found here. Recipes from Clementine's, a purveyor of fine grilled cheeses in LA, can be found here.

In a post such as this I can't resist reminiscing a bit about Diana Duyser, the woman who in 2004 sold a grilled cheese sandwich that allegedly bore the image of the Virgin Mary for $28,000. Have you ever wondered what happened to her? (Probably not.) But just in case here is an update: the Miami Herald reports that in 2007 she paid $1000 to have an image of the sandwich tattooed on her chest. People are strange.

Arina Goat Gouda

Arina Goat Gouda is a semi-hard, Gouda-style, goat's milk cheese from Holland. It is aged four months and has a wonderfully mild, nutty flavor. You might not know you were eating goat cheese, unless you were told. Both its flavor and texture are unlike the tart, fresh chèvre most people are more familiar with.

In order to make a Gouda-style cheese, the curds must be pressed and heated to expell a good deal of the whey. I also believe (though I do not know for certain) that Goudas require the use of a particular strand of bacteria as the starter culture that aids the initial separation of curds and whey.

Arina Goat Gouda is a great party cheese. I brought some a couple of weeks ago to Ken and Jenn Shockley's annual philosophy gathering, and it was gone within minutes. The hosts didn't even get to try any.

Some other Gouda cheeses I've reviewed include the following:

• Ewephoria
• Vintage Van Gogh
• Saenkanter
• Double-Cream Gouda

Some salad recipes using Arina Goat Gouda include:

• Arugula, Pear, Arina Goat Gouda Salad
• Arina Goat Gouda Salad

Arina would probably make a good grilled cheese sandwich, too.

Cheese Facts and Myths

Question #1: Is it OK to Freeze Cheese?

Most cheeses do not freeze well. Only soft, unripened cheeses like cream cheese, cottage cheese, mascarpone and ricotta can be frozen without becoming ruined. And even then they should be used only in cooking after thawing.

Soft-ripened cheeses like Brie or Camembert should not be frozen, nor should just about any other cheese. Most cheeses lose both texture and flavor during the freezing process.

Question #2: Do Cheeses Made from Sheep and Goat Milk Contain Less Lactose?

This question is important to those who suffer from lactose-intolerance but who enjoy the taste of cheese. In spite of what you may have heard, sheep milk and goat milk do not contain lesser amounts of lactose. According to an article by Phillip Collman (Ph.D., gastrointestinal physiology) in the Ontario Cheese Society newsletter, the lactose content for all three species is around 4.5%. Collman's advice to lactose-intolerant cheese lovers is to select aged cheeses: "The longer a dairy product has been aged, the more lactose is converted into lactic acid, which doesn’t cause any gastrointestinal discomfort."

Expensive Wines Really Do Taste Better

We've all heard that higher price tags tend to make people think more highly of a wine. The conventional wisdom suggests that an inflated price tag can't really make a wine taste better. Recent neuroscientific evidence, however, suggests otherwise.

According to a report in Scientific American Mind ("Paying for Pleasure," Apr/May 2008), 20 volunteers were recently given 5 supposedly different wines to sample. Each wine was identified by a certain price. In reality, only 3 different wines were sampled--2 of the wines were presented twice with different price tags. As expected, the subjects gave the wine with the cheapest price tag their lowest rating, while the most expensive wine was everyone's favorite. Subjects gave the "most expensive" wine a lower rating when that same wine was presented with a lower price tag.

While the subjects were sampling the wines, their brains were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging technology. The scans revealed an increase in activity in the medial orbitofrontal cortex while subjects were tasting the more expensive wine. This area is believed to underwrite or encode for the pleasantness of various experiences. Changing subjects' expectations via doctoring the price tags had a measurable effect on pleasure-related brain activity.

In other words, the wine really did taste better with an inflated price tag. The subjects underwent qualitatively different experiences when the wine was labeled with a more expensive price than when the same wine was labeled with a lower price. Granted, it should not have tasted any better, but that's another story.

People in Need

True or False: The following pictures have nothing to do with wine or cheese.


Caption: Sunglasses €24.- Access to water €8.-


Caption: Handbag €32.- Food for a week €4.-


Caption: Pint of beer €4.50
50 liters of fresh water €1.50

Chèvre Noir

Chèvre Noir Goat Cheddar is one of the best cheddars I've ever tasted. Produced by Fromagerie Tournevent in Chesterville, Quebec, it is made from pasteurized goat milk and aged a minimum of one year.

This pale, slightly dry cheese is initially firm but will literally melted in your mouth. It has a wonderfully rich, creamy, nutty flavor that includes hints of caramel.

Lucie Chartier, René Marceau and Louise Lefebvre have been making Chèvre Noir for twenty years, during which time it has garnered a variety of awards at international cheese competitions, including more than one first place prize at the American Cheese Society annual competition.

The folks at Fromagerie Tournevent suggest serving Chèvre Noir with fresh fruit, port or a premium beer. At $25/lb, Chèvre Noir is more expensive than most other cheddars, but it is well worth the expense. It is absolutely fabulous.

Wine and Children

Eric Asimov, wine writer for the NY Times, recently posted some interesting reflections on serving wine to one's teenaged children at home.

Asimov spoke with Dr. Paul Steinberg, a psychiatrist and former director of counseling at Georgetown University, about the best ways to prevent kids from binge drinking in high school and college. According to Steinberg, "The best evidence shows that teaching kids to drink responsibly is better than shutting them off entirely from it. You want to introduce your kids to it, and get across the point that that this is to be enjoyed but not abused."

Studies performed by Dr. George E. Vaillant, a Harvard psychiatry professor, showed that men who grew up in families where alcohol was forbidden at the table but was consumed outside the home apart from food were seven times more likely to become alcoholics than those who came from families where wine was served with meals but drunkenness was not tolerated. Vaillant told Asimov, "If you are taught to drink in a ceremonial way with food, then the purpose of alcohol is taste and celebration, not inebriation. If you are forbidden to use it until college then you drink to get drunk."

Asimov says that he is currently unsure about whether to serve wine to his teenaged sons at home. But he concludes, "my cautious opinion now is that my teenage sons have more to gain than to lose by having a taste of wine now and then with dinner." I would not have expected a well-known wine critic to be so hesitant to serve wine to his teenagers at home.

I have always assumed that I would give sips of wine to my daughters when they become teenagers. But I suppose one should definitely proceed with caution here.

Philosophy and Wine Books

Peter Machamer, who is a philosopher of science, wine critic, bon vivant, and even Philosopher-in-Residence for the Attack Theatre Dance Company, has recently reviewed two new books on philosophy and wine at Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews.

The books are Questions of Taste: The Philosophy of Wine, edited by Barry C. Smith, and Wine and Philosophy: A Symposium on Thinking and Drinking, edited by Fritz Allhoff. (The philosopher Barry C. Smith is not to be confused with the philosopher Barry Smith. Only the latter holds world records both for the largest single grant ever given to a philosopher and for total grant money given to a philosopher.)

The book, Wine and Philosophy, is part of Blackwell's Epicurean Trilogy, which also includes Beer and Philosophy: The Unexamined Beer Isn't Worth Drinking and Food and Philosophy: Eat, Think, and Be Merry. These books do an entertaining job of promoting an expanded range of topics in value inquiry that receive sustained philosophical attention.

Some of my colleagues have suggested that I should propose and edit a Cheese and Philosophy volume in the series. Unfortunately, however, I keep my philosophizing and my cheese tasting fairly separate. Perhaps I should consider changing that (after tenure).